Pre-formed four-in-hand necktie



March 16, 1965 J. E. COSGROVE PRE-FORMED FOUR-IN-HAND NECKTIE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 18, 1962 JOHN E. 008 GROVE INVENTOR. W

A OR/VE Y March 16, 1965 Filed Oct. 18, 1962 J. E. COSGROVE 3,173,149

PREFORMED FOUR-IN-HAND NECKTIE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHNE. COSGROVE INVENTOR.

A ORA/E) United States Patent C) F 3,173,149 PRE-FORMED FOUR-IN-HAND NECKTIE John E. Cosgrove, Union, N.J., assignor to Foam Products, Inc., Newark, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Oct. 18, 1962, Ser. No. 231,538 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-150) This invention relates to neckties and more particularly to a readyamade, four-in-hand .necktie of the clipon class.

A necktie made in accordance with this invention is of simple construction, economical to produce, of light weight, and pleasing in appearance. Additionally, there is eflected a substantial saving in the material of which the tie is made.

An object of this invention is the provision of a readymade necktie of novel construction and unique appearance.

An object of this invention is the provision of a readymade necktie formed of a single length of material with a simulated knot formed at one end and about a clip-on member which serves as the means for attaching the tie to a shirt collar.

An object of this invention is the provision of a preformed necktie having a simulated knot formed at one end of a ribbon of material about a clip-on member, said knot being formed in such a manner that the material adjacent to the lower portion of the knot forms a smooth curve thereby enhancing the overall appearance of the tie.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended hereto.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view showing a strip of material to be formed into a tie;

FIGURE 2 is a rear view of the clip-on member;

FIGURE 3 is a side view thereof;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the filler piece;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the material strip folded in accordance with the first step in the method of forming the tie;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary rear view showing the material strip assembled to the clip-on member;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary isometric view showing the first step in the formation of the simulated tie;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary rear view showing the filler piece in position;

FIGURE 9 is similar to FIGURE 8 and showing the completed knot; and

FIGURES 10 and 11 are, respectively, front and side views of the completed knot.

Referring, now, to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a ribbon of material 10 which may be of any desired textile material and preferably is foamed urethane approximately 1%" wide and A" thick.

The clip-on member 11, shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, is a unitary piece molded of plastic, such as, for example, relatively soft polyethylene. It comprises a generally semi-cylindrical body portion 12 terminating in diverging wings, or arms, 13 at the upper end and in an offset U-shaped hook-on member 14 at the lower end. Those skilled in this art understand that the member 14 is designed to be hooked over the shirt in the region of the uppermost shirt button and the wings are designed to slip under the shirt collar, all for the purpose of securely aflixing the clipon member in wearing position. The upper edge of the semi-cylindrical body portion is recessed somewhat and is joined to the upper side edges of the wing portions by the sloping surfaces 15 which generally define the width of the knot to be formed thereon, as will become more apparent from the following description. I

The first step in the formation of the simulated knot consists in folding over an end 16 of the material strip and cutting a thin slot 17 through the overlapped pieces, as shown in FIGURE 5. The U-shaped member 14, of the clip-on member, is then slipped through such slot, as shown in the rear view, FIGURE 6. It be noted that the width of the material strip 10 is slightly greater than the transverse dimension of the sloping walls 15 and that the walls defining the slot '17 encompass the lower, horizontal leg '18 of the member 14, see, also, FIGURE 3.

The upper portion of the folded material, identified by the numeral 19 in FIGURE 6, is then folded over the clip-on member as shown in FIGURE 7, thereby forming four thicknesses of the material, namely, the initially folded over portion 16 and the main strip 10 which is positioned at the back of the clip-on member, and the folded over portions 16a and 16b positioned at the front of the clip-on member.

FIGURE 4 shows the filler piece 20 made of compressible material, such as foamed urethane and having a generally triangular cross section. This piece now is placed on folded over portion 16, see FIGURE 8, with the upper end spaced somewhat from the free end of the 'U-shaped member 14 and the lower end extending longitudinally somewhat beyond the end of the material portion '16. If desired, a spot of suitable cement may be applied to the base of the filler strip thereby to hold same in the illustrated position until the simulated knot is formed.

The knot is formed by transversely folding the lower side edges X and Y of the four layers of material into facing contact along a vertical plane which is normal to the paper and which coincides with the vertical center line 21 (see FIGURE 8). In this operation, that portion of the filler strip which is enclosed within a tube formed by the folded-over side edges X and Y is radially compress-ed. The abutting portions of the edges X and Y are now permanently secured in such position by means of a staple 22, shown in FIGURE 9, thereby completing the knot.

FIGURE 9 shows the four thicknesses of the material, namely, the main material strip 10 and the adjacent, initially folded over end portion 16, the front portions 16a and 16b, the resulting tubular portion T and the filler piece 20. That portion of the filler piece which is compressively enclosed within the tubular portion T, of the completed knot, more or less fills the space within such tubular portion, the front contour of which is defined by the semi-cylindrical body portion 12 (see FIGURE 3) of the clip-on member. That portion of the filler piece which extends below the tubular portion T, together with the free end of the initially, folded over portion 16, provide a convex portion C (see the side view, FIGURE 11), which gracefully merges into the flat portion of the material 10, thereby forming a simulated knot of pleasing appearance.

After the tie has been completed, the lower portion of the filler piece may be cut on a bias, as indicated by the reference numeral 23 in FIGURES 9 and 11, so that the tie will lie flat against the shirt of the wearer.

When the ribbon of material of which the tie is made is relatively thick, the filler piece may be omitted. While I prefer to form the knot of four layers of the material, .as described, it is apparent that the knot can be made of but two layers of the material. In the latter case, the material preferably should be relatively thick and the filler piece should be of a relatively larger cross sectional area in order to provide a knot which is Wrinlde free and of appropriate size. It will further be apparent that thesemi-cylindrical body portion of the clip-on member may have a somewhat larger axial length and may have a circumferential extent more closely approximating a full cylinder, thereby to vary the length and radius of the tubular portion T, of the completed knot, as desired. Changes and modifimtions of this character, and others of similar character, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as recitedin the following claims.

Iolaim:

1. A pre-formed tie comprising;

(a) 'a ribbonyof material having an end folded back upon itself to fO Dm a first fold and a first double layer of the material, said double layer of material being again folded back upon itself to form a second fold and a second double layer of material, said second double layer of material constituting a front piece of relatively short axial length,

(1)) means forming a slot through the first double layer of material at a predetermined distance from the said second fold,

(c) a unitary cli -on member having an arcuate body portion disposed between the first and second double layers of material, the upper end of the body portion terminating in diverging arms which extend beyond the side edges of the folded over material and the other end of said body portion being connected to a generally, U-shaped hook-on member by a lateral base portion which passes through the said slot, and (d) means fastening together the lateral side edges of the four layers of the material -at a point proxi mate to said hook-on member, thereby forming a :generally tubular section enclosing the said arcuate body portion, the lower end of the tubular section being defined by the said first fold and the upper end of the tubular section flaring outwardly toward the second fold. 2. The invention as recited in claim 1, including an elongated tiller member of compressible material, a portion of the filler member being compressively enclosed within the said tubular section.

References Cited in the file of this-patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 373,933 Henschel Nov. 29, 1887 1,134,900 P aquette Apr. 6, 1915 1,847,294 Collett Mar. 1, 1932 2,427,468 Maxwell Sept. 16, 1947 3,031,679 Miller :et .al. May 1, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 555,614 Belgium Mar. 30, 1957 637,489 Canada Feb. 27, 1962 

1. A PRE-FORMED TIE COMPRISING; (A) A RIBBON OF MATERIAL HAVING AN END FOLDED BACK UPON ITSELF TO FORM A FIRST FOLD AND A FIRST DOUBLE LAYER OF THE MATERIAL, SAID DOUBLE LAYER OF MATERIAL, BEING AGAIN FOLDED BACK UPON ITSELF TO FORM A SECOND FOLD AND A SECOND DOUBLE LAYER OF MATERIAL, SAID SECOND DOUBLE LAYER OF MATERIAL CONSTITUTING A FRONT PIECE OF RELATIVELY SHORT AXIAL LENGTH, (B) MEANS FORMING A SLOT THROUGH THE FIRST DOUBLE LAYER OF MATERIAL AT A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE FROM THE SAID SECOND FOLD, 